Berkeley International High School, an International Baccalaureate World School, offers every student the opportunity to challenge him or herself to reach the very highest level of academic achievement. Our students will become intelligent, engaged, energetic and passionate about their own learning.Daily Planet chats with new BHS principal
The July 20 Berkeley Daily Planet included a lengthy interview with Pasquale Scuderi, the newly appointed principal at Berkeley High School. In it, Scuderi talks about the budget challenges facing Berkeley schools, recruiting and evaluating diverse faculty, addressing the achievement gap, equity vs. equality, distribution of resources and decision-making among the small learning communities at BHS, student drug use, and several other meaty topics. The story offers a good look at where Berkeley High's new leadership might be heading.
IB in the news: International program catches on in U.S. schools
For those who missed it, the New York Times ran a front-page story over the weekend on the expanding popularity of the International Baccalaureate program in U.S. schools, especially public schools. The article notes that many parents, schools and students see the IB program as a rigorous and more internationally focused curriculum, and a way to impress college admissions officers. Read the full story
BIHS seniors are college-bound in droves
The first graduating class from Berkeley International High School did very well in the college admissions derby, landing places in more than 60 colleges and universities around the United States and United Kingdom. Preliminary data compiled by Vice Principal Amy Frey and the College & Career Center (with dozens of students yet to report in) show that BIHS students will be scattering to colleges in 16 states, stretching from Washington and California to Florida and Massachusetts. Among those schools getting our graduates are:
- All three levels of the California higher education network, including half a dozen campuses each from the UC, CSU and community college systems.
- Half of the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia)
- Large state universities (Cal, UCLA, Oregon, Michigan, UMass Amherst) and small liberal arts colleges (Barnard, Amherst, Grinnell, Skidmore, Kenyon, Sarah Lawrence, Williams, Vassar, Pitzer, Bard, Whitman, Macalester)
- Both contestants in the Big Game (Stanford and Cal)
- A pair of Berkeleys: UC Berkeley, in our back yard, and Berklee College of Music in Boston
- The University of Edinburgh in Scotland
Many students also reported on their application and acceptance record. Overall, those providing complete data applied to an average of 8.5 schools, and were accepted by 5.2, for an acceptance rate of just over 60%. Within those averages, there was plenty of variation. Some students said they applied to only one school; others listed as many as 17 applications. Acceptance rates ranged from 11% up to 100%; students who were accepted by all their chosen schools applied to anywhere from 1 to 10 colleges.
BIHS sophomores turn out for the PSAT
BIHS made a successful push this fall to boost the participation rate of 10th graders taking the PSAT, which was offered free at school to all sophomores. With last year’s participation rates particularly low among African Americans throughout Berkeley High, BIHS focused on personalization, getting seniors to talk to 10th grade classes about the importance of the PSAT, and asking teachers to personally encourage kids to participate. Lead teacher Miranda Thorman reports that BIHS had 94% participation for 10th graders taking the PSAT this year, the highest percentage among all the small learning communities at BHS. Congratulations to all who helped with this effort.
Keep track of grades, attendance and more on PowerSchool
Berkeley High has launched its new PowerSchool web portal for parents and students, allowing families to check assignments, review grades and track attendance. The site is at ps.berkeley.net/public/; login credentials and passwords were sent by snail mail to all families last month. If you can't find your family's password, you can retrieve it by providing student and home information on the BUSD PowerSchool Login Lookup. More PowerSchool information can be found on the BHS website.